Funny, I gladly paid around the same amount for Tamiya's photoetch scissors, but begrudgedly bought these at roughly the same amount, largely this was due to it's perceived need. However, after a short time of use, have come to the conclusion that these are indeed very useful for the intended purpose. The length, the blade is about 1.25 inches, allows for more maneuverability around smaller decals and the sharpness ensures a good cut. Moreover, the blade is slightly curved inward to allow more cutting surface, ie one is not limited to hinge area of lessor scissors. Cautions on the back in Japanese (not on the US website) mentions not to cut thicker items nor items other than decals and stickers, not to drop nor bend, though it is stainless steel wipe off liquids for longevity, and finally no cutting of rough items to preserve the coating and cutting edge. One point of confusion is that the US Tamiya site recommends not to use with RC type stickers, however the Japanese instructions mentions that these can be used for both RC stickers and masking tape because of its special non-stick surface. Personally, I would only use these for decals or give it a good cleaning if I did cut anything sticky. I would have given it a higher rating if it had a cover to protect the pointed nose, the photoetched scissors do.